1,600 out of Illinois prisons early; few back

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013 2:30 p.m. CST

SPRINGFIELD (AP) — Records reviewed by The Associated Press show that a Decatur murder charge against a man released early from prison is among only a small number of problems in a new state good-behavior release program.

Of 1,600 inmates sent home early since March, only 20 violated parole and were reincarcerated. That's just more than 1 percent.

The Department of Corrections hasn't answered an AP inquiry about why the other parolees were locked back up.

Joshua A. Jones was released five months early in May after serving a sentence on drug charges.

He's charged with murder in an Aug. 17 shooting. He's currently in the Macon County jail.

Gov. Pat Quinn halted a previous early-release program for three years after a 2009 scandal involving the quiet release of hundreds of violent inmates.